Paella is a traditional Spanish dish and comes
form Valencia, Spain. There are several varieties, which include different
types of meat and seafood. This recipe is for use with a heavy dutch oven with
a lid, but a paella pan could also be used. The biggest difference between this
and traditional paella is that the traditional sort would have a crunch bottom
layer to it, called soccarat. An
optional instruction at the end tales how to do that. This recipe was adapted
from America’s Test Kitchen.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound extra-large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound),
peeled and deveined (optional)
Salt and ground black pepper
Olive oil
8 or 9 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (2
generous tablespoons)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, seasoned with salt and pepper
(chicken thighs are more traditional, but they don’t fly in my house)
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut pole
to pole into 1/2-inch-wide strips
8 ounces Mexican chorizo (again, not
traditional, but preferred in my house)
1 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup)
One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained, minced, and drained again
2 cups Valencia or Arborio rice
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled (expensive spice, but well worth the
price)
1 dried bay leaf
1 dozen mussels, scrubbed and debearded (I exclude these, since I can’t get
them fresh here)
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving
DIRECTIONS
1. Toss the shrimp, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4
teaspoon pepper, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1 teaspoon of the garlic in a medium
bowl; cover and refrigerate.
2. Preheat oven to 350. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in
a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the pepper strips and cook,
stirring occasionally, until the skin begins to blister and turn spotty black,
3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the pepper to a small plate and set aside.
3. Add 1 teaspoon oil to the Dutch oven. Add the
chicken pieces in a single layer; cook, until browned, about 3 minutes. Turn
the pieces and brown on the second side; transfer the chicken to a medium bowl.
4. Reduce the heat to medium and add the chorizo
to the pot and cook, breaking it apart and crumbling it with a wooden spoon. Transfer the chorizo to
the bowl with the chicken and set aside.
5. Add enough oil to the fat in the Dutch oven
to equal 2 tablespoons. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until
softened, about 3 minutes; stir in the remaining garlic and cook until
fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes; cook until the mixture begins
to darken and thicken slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook
until the grains are well coated with the tomato mixture, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir
in the chicken broth, saffron, bay leaf, and 1 teaspoon salt. Return the
chicken and chorizo to the pot, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to
a boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Cover the pot and transfer it to the
oven; cook until the rice absorbs almost all of the liquid, about 15 minutes.
6. Remove the paella from the oven (close the
oven door to retain heat). Uncover the paella; scatter the shrimp over the
rice, insert the mussels hinged-side down into the rice (so they stand
upright), arrange the bell pepper strips in a pinwheel pattern, and scatter the
peas over the top. Cover and return to the oven; cook until the shrimp are
opaque and the mussels have opened, 10 to 12 minutes.
7. Optional: If soccarat (see headnote)
is desired, set the Dutch oven, uncovered, over medium-high heat for about 5
minutes, rotating the pot 180 degrees after about 2 minutes for even browning.
8. Let the paella stand, covered, about 5
minutes. Discard any mussels that have not opened and the bay leaf, if it can
be easily removed. Sprinkle the paella with the parsley and serve, passing the
lemon wedges separately.
I like to serve this with some bread.
 |
| In a paella pan with shrimp. |
 |
| In cast iron, no seafood. |
